The present invention concerns a device for inserting laundry articles into a feeder.
Feeders are primarily used in big laundries in which they are used for smoothing and spreading large laundry articles, such as sheets, table-cloths, slips for eiderdowns, etc. for subsequent insertion of the laundry article into e.g. an ironing roller, it being important that these feeding devices spread and smooth the laundry articles effectively so that undesired creases will not occur after the ironing roller. These feeders frequently comprise a device for inserting laundry articles into the feeder of the type mentioned above. Most frequently, the laundry articles are inserted into the apparatus in that a laundry article is taken from a pile of laundry articles in a wrinkled state and optionally wet or damp. Then the laundry article is inserted into the machine.
Examples of prior art of this type are disclosed in e.g. EP Patent Application 424 290 and EP Patent Application 419 382. To ensure that the laundry article which is inserted into the feeder, is free of creases and the like to the greatest possible extent, these known devices are provided with a horn across which the laundry article is pulled when being inserted. These horns hereby provide a spreading movement of the laundry article so that many of the creases in the laundry article are smoothed out or removed.
The underlying horn thus has two effects: primarily a smoothing-out effect in that the laundry article hangs down on both sides of the horn, and secondly the horn can grip the creases with its front edge to stretch these during the movement of the laundry article across the horn.
However, it has been found in practice that not all creases are smoothed out satisfactorily using such a horn, since the front edge of the horn can just grip creases which extend below the laundry article and forward with respect to the direction of feed of the laundry article. Creases which conversely extend upward from the laundry article and forward with respect to the direction of feed of the laundry article, are not always smoothed out satisfactorily. This is inexpedient, because this requires subsequent smoothing-out in the feeder machine, which may be expensive and difficult to establish, and which additionally frequently results in a prolonged process time for each laundry article causing reduced efficiency.
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a device for inserting laundry articles into a feeder, which improves the certainty that laundry articles are not inserted into the feeder with creases extending upward and forward in the direction of feed such that the process time for insertion of laundry articles is usually not prolonged.